


the old traveler's tale

by writerofbaddecisions



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Memories, Multi, no beta we die like my promise of making this 1k words, no beta we die like wilbur's sanity, tw//death, tw//fire, tw//mentioned self-harm, tw//nightmares, tw//slight blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:35:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26945278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerofbaddecisions/pseuds/writerofbaddecisions
Summary: L’manburg is an old traveler’s tale. A young man on a rickety bench , overlooking a decaying duck,  tells of a once flourishing city , with animals and people alike. A jukebox that forever plays a haunting tune, the tune of soldiers marching to the sound of drums , to their doom.  Sure , they fought over the pettiest of things , but at the end of the day , they were still family. A flourishing country , not much different from Rome in that it fell with it’s leader’s hubris , chained down by greed.--------Rome wasn't built in a day, but l'manburg fell in one.
Relationships: only friendships and sibling relationships but that's too many tags
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	the old traveler's tale

**Author's Note:**

> so this is formatted with a poem! numbers through dix - cinq , un , and zéro , are my own writing. quatre and trois are quotes from David bowie and Dave eggers. 
> 
> this fic was based on a doodle from @ATiredShota on twitter ,so go show them some support!

**dix.**

_ you think you know how it goes, but you don't _

_ it's written in your books as a lie _

\---

The festival ends with a bang. A literal one, not a figurative one. Clouds of smoke fill the air as the citizens desperately try to escape the booms. The attendees scream and shout,

“~~ WHERE ARE YOU!”

“~~ NO--” 

“STOP”

“WHERE IS IT COMING FROM.” 

The crudely colored banners that hang from the street lamps, brighten up the deadly scene as the explosions grow frantic and the flames grow higher until they tower over the country. The joyful signs blow up into sickening confetti, a celebration of their doom. Some pull out weapons to fight off the invisible demons , other rip their clothing to smother the flames. 

But neither works.

Eventually, they end up together, as the flames rise and swallow their happiness in 

venom. Some of them were bleeding, some were bruised, others had ripped clothing, and others were burned. The citizens panic, until they see the figure standing amongst the flames, and their faces grow from panic into horror.

Wilbur. The flames frame his face, in a horrifying light, telling them all they need to know of the leader gone mad, with his unruly hair, and dark eyes on full display. He looks at the frightened group and sneers at them.

“How’s the festival been?”’ He says with a sickeningly sweet voice.

No one dares answer him. 

  
  
  
  


**neuf.**

_ you think it's smiles and love, but it's not _

_ it's told in secret as a lie _

\---

Niki can only shakily whisper “Wilbur?” as her tears are threatening to leak. From the corners of her eyes, she can see Tommy silently leaking tears as he watches his  brother mentor go crazy. Jschlatt, for his effort demands 

“So , you’re back huh. Crazier than ever.”

Wilbur only tilts his head, like a puppet on a string and says “I’ve come with a request.”

Quackity sneers back at him “What is it.” 

Wilbur leans closer to Quackity’s direction and whispers over the flames “I want to see you burn.”

Eret looks up and stares straight at Wilbur with a deadly look in his eyes , reminisecent of the way they left things off. “Why?”

“When I was banished from this filth of a place, I was naive, I couldn't believe my own citizens would do that too me.” He moves across the flames , as he speaks. 

“I wanted a revolution, I wanted to take back what's rightfully  _ mine _ !!” he shouts. 

From next to her , Niki can hear a quiet “it was never yours~” get eaten up by the howling flames. 

“ I wanted to show the world I'm not a coward, I don't bend because some goat wanted some power! Cast me aside, why don't you! If the good guys are losing, why be a good guy? History only likes the winning side , and being a bad guy..is better. it's much more fun, not a ton of limitations, and whatnot.” 

Jschlatt snarls at the man, he looks like he would kill Wilbur, but his arm is bleeding and he’s missing an horn. 

“I thought I could get my country back peacefully, get my power back with little bloodshed. But when Jschlatt over here , he decided to hold a festival....celebrating my banishment. Oh that made my mind so much clearer, he’s pretending to be the good guy in the story , a hero coming in to save the day. Well.... the hero ain't so good now...........stealing my country? trying to "make it better?" banishing me? I told myself that , if I can't have my country , if I can't have my l'manburg , no one can.”

Techno’s eyes widen at those words,  _ he taught Wilbur to take what he wants. _

“Don't think I didn't learn from my first war.........ashes and fires are the easiest to wipe out a country............other than betrayal.....which you all seem to love.” 

Eret flinches at the reminder of his betrayal. Tommy and Tubbo won’t meet each other’s eyes. 

“Once the flames finally start burning what they were meant to do , this whole war can come to a nice clean end with a little bow on the top.”

“It’s nice when things end with a bow on the top , isn't it?” 

Quackity mutters to himself “He has to be joking right?”

"It's nice when things end with a bow.on.the.top " Wilbur punctuates his sentence with an igniting of more tnt , as he throws the TNT into the crowd with a smile.

  
  
  
  


**huit.**

_ count them off one by one _

_ history dares you _

_ the tyrant. the traitor. the king. _

_ the son. the follower. the citizen. _

_ the arsonist. the innocent. the watchers. _

_ the lovers. the builder. the lier. _

  
  


\---

The flames eat up Jschlatt first, his screams matching the rhythm of the flames, cackling in their misery. A single shard of fabric, floating down onto the ashes is what remains of the tyrant.

Tubbo accepts his fate as he peacefully blows away with the ashes, and Tommy screams in grief before the flames grab onto him as well. 

Wilbur watches with a maniacal laugh as his son burns alive, an "I'm sorry, Dad~" silenced by the flames. 

Quackity screams loudly in gruesome pain, but the flames take him too, and so-

Manburg falls first. 

Wilbur trains his dead eyes on Eret next, burning the traitor king where he once betrayed him, Eret only smiles at Wilbur, he knew what it was like to be consumed by greed. 

And so l’manburg falls. 

Sapnap and George burn together, Karl screams through his tears of grief as he joins Sapnap in the afterlife. 

And so love falls. 

Bad quietly goes , leaving seemingly nothing behind. Skeppy doesn’t scream either, he can’t wait to reunite with Roberto.

And so the innocent falls. 

One by one. Screams of pain and grief falling into rhythm with the roaring flames as the SMP burns with its citizens. A melted crown sits among the flames, from Eret or Techno, as Wilbur grabs it up and places it on his head. A desperate attempt at leadership, cruel and unusual. 

One by One , til Niki is the only one left.

  
  


**sept.**

_ the festival written in blood _

_ it's all fun and games _

_ til the stage goes up in flames _

_ it's all fair in love and war _

_ until the banished burns the village _

_ to feel it's warmth burn _

\---

The flames start going after Niki as she tries to run away from her doom. She drops to the ground in desparation, she feels a pain in her back as the flames grow over her. Suddenly, she hears a loud  _ whoosh _ as wings grow above her and block the fire out, forcing it to retreat. 

She stands up shaikly as Wilbur laughs in cruel victory , her skirt burnt, tattered by the heat , and her sword barely hangs on to it’s sheeth. She’s grown wings………. snow white angel wings hang from her back , flapping on their own command. 

Niki spots a melted rifle near her , with a magazine lying next to it. Someone must have been preparing to shoot Wilbur down before the flames reached them. Quietly as she can , she books it towards the rifle , not caring about the burning heat around her. 

She grabes the burning hot magazine , and loads it into the rifle , with a small click. She aims the gun at Wilbur using the half-melted scope , but suddenly the scope falls off with a small clink that echoes loudly among the suddenly quiet flames. 

_ (“W̸̡͈̤̟͛̔̍i̸̗̓̒͑ͅl̴̦̬̱̥̈́, i'm never going to need to learn how to use a rifle. Isn’t it peacetime?” Niki nervously laughs as she’s handed a rifle and a couple of magazines.  _

_ W̸̡̬̞̠͍͖̙̹̫̙̓̂̍̎͆̀͛͆ͅį̶̡̭̯̻͇̬̟͑͒̓̆̍l̵̨̨̠͍̯̻̹̄̉̈́͆̓̓͛͐̉b̸̨̨̡̧̮̮̲͖̯̝̫̘̜̉ͅư̸̜̳̰̟͔̈́͆͛͑̌͒̀r̶̢̳̥̯͈̝͕͔̻̱̘̪̩̤̞̿͂̂̉̄ replies without missing a beat “You never know on this server.”) _

  
  


Wilbur’s too busy celebrating his gruesome victory to notice Niki loading up a rifle and pointing it directly towards him , until he does notice the small clink and spins around to face Niki. 

Wilbur’s smile starts fading away when he looks down at the barrel of the rifle pointed directly at his chest. 

_ (W̸̡̬̞̠͍͖̙̹̫̙̓̂̍̎͆̀͛͆ͅį̶̡̭̯̻͇̬̟͑͒̓̆̍l̵̨̨̠͍̯̻̹̄̉̈́͆̓̓͛͐̉b̸̨̨̡̧̮̮̲͖̯̝̫̘̜̉ͅư̸̜̳̰̟͔̈́͆͛͑̌͒̀r̶̢̳̥̯͈̝͕͔̻̱̘̪̩̤̞̿͂̂̉̄ grabs the rifle and adjusts his stance. “I’ll show you how it’s done , Niki.” _

_ He pushes the trigger three times , the bullets lands directly in the center of the target’s chest. Had it been a real person , they would have been dead.  _

_ W̸̡̬̞̠͍͖̙̹̫̙̓̂̍̎͆̀͛͆ͅį̶̡̭̯̻͇̬̟͑͒̓̆̍l̵̨̨̠͍̯̻̹̄̉̈́͆̓̓͛͐̉b̸̨̨̡̧̮̮̲͖̯̝̫̘̜̉ͅư̸̜̳̰̟͔̈́͆͛͑̌͒̀r̶̢̳̥̯͈̝͕͔̻̱̘̪̩̤̞̿͂̂̉̄ looks at a terrified Niki and says “aim for the chest if you can , it’s the easist way.” ) _

“I thought you were different.” Wilbur quips as he stares down Niki. 

Niki keeps the rifle trained on his chest as her hands start shaking. “I thought you were too.”

Wilbur turns to start walking down the hill , keeping an eye on Niki’s rifle, as they play a game of cat and mouse. Niki slowly, turns her rifle to keep it pointed on Wilbur, heart racing a million miles per hour.  _ What does he want. _

Wilbur sneers at Niki “Of all the people to betray me……..i never thought you would be one of them. Why  _ did  _ you betray me?”

_ (Tommy stumbled into her bakery, eyes bloodshot and puffy , tearstreaks running down his face. _

_ Niki quickly stopped her rolling , and raced over to catch Tommy. She helps him sit down on a couch , and grabs a warm mug of hot chocolate.  _

_ It’s unspoken now between them, Tommy’s had too many nightmares and nowhere to go , so Niki offered him the bakery- and it’s stuck. _

_ It’s unspoken , no mention, nothing at all ) _

Niki only steadys her grip “Why did you betray Tommy? Why did you use him?” 

  
  


_ ( W̸̡̬̞̠͍͖̙̹̫̙̓̂̍̎͆̀͛͆ͅį̶̡̭̯̻͇̬̟͑͒̓̆̍l̵̨̨̠͍̯̻̹̄̉̈́͆̓̓͛͐̉b̸̨̨̡̧̮̮̲͖̯̝̫̘̜̉ͅư̸̜̳̰̟͔̈́͆͛͑̌͒̀r̶̢̳̥̯͈̝͕͔̻̱̘̪̩̤̞̿͂̂̉̄ sits on the tree , looking out onto the smp “Tommy’s a good kid. Naive sure, puts his trust into the wrong people.”  _

_ Niki doesn’t question it. Maybe she should have.) _

Wilbur paces around the remnants of the stage, his calm demeaner starting to disappear, as the rifle keeps an eye on his movements. 

“He-” Wilbur gets out. 

“HE WAS A KID!! SO WAS TUBBO! THEY WERE  _ KIDS  _ WILBUR!” Niki bursts out in fury. 

_ (Every single time Tommy came into her bakery in the dead of night , everytime she watched the glint in Tubbo's eyes fade , her anger stirred. _

_ No kid should have to go through war.)  _

“He wanted to-” Wilbur attempts to defend himself. 

“YOU DESTORYED HIM WIL! FOR FUCK’S SAKE! ” Niki cries. With every word she screams , the rifle shakes , moving slightly off from it’s target. 

Wilbur stops. He falters on the words, muttering over and over to himself , something Niki can’t make out among the flames. 

_ (W̸̡̬̞̠͍͖̙̹̫̙̓̂̍̎͆̀͛͆ͅį̶̡̭̯̻͇̬̟͑͒̓̆̍l̵̨̨̠͍̯̻̹̄̉̈́͆̓̓͛͐̉b̸̨̨̡̧̮̮̲͖̯̝̫̘̜̉ͅư̸̜̳̰̟͔̈́͆͛͑̌͒̀r̶̢̳̥̯͈̝͕͔̻̱̘̪̩̤̞̿͂̂̉̄ asks Niki out of the blue one day “I’ve never heard you curse.”  _

_ Niki replies back “I only curse when I'm absolutely furious , just ask Tommy.” _

_ He never does.) _

Suddenly , Wilbur drops to the ground, beanie landing on the ground in between them. 

( _ “He’s too prideful , he’ll never want mercy , W̸̡̬̞̠͍͖̙̹̫̙̓̂̍̎͆̀͛͆ͅį̶̡̭̯̻͇̬̟͑͒̓̆̍l̵̨̨̠͍̯̻̹̄̉̈́͆̓̓͛͐̉ would rather die.” Tommy tells her in between sips and sobs.) _

_ ( “It’s polite to ask someone who wants mercy , what their last words are.” Techno tells her very seriously. _

_ “I don’t think i’ll ever need to use that , but thanks!” Niki says without looking up from the wound she was stitching. _

__

_ Oh how she’s lied.) _

All at once , Wilbur’s actions come racing back to haunt him, his calm demeanour finally cracks as tears leak from his eyes, falling onto the ground, dampening the ground. He hits the ground , over and over ,  _ their dead because you , you m̸͔̠̫̪̣̳̺̂͑͒ǫ̷̬̮͚̲̣̭̝̥̀̒̇́̿̈́̉̉̒̅̐́͘͝ͅn̵̲͕̞̱̣̱͚̰͊͒̓̌̓̋̈̓͜s̸̘̅͊̎͌̂̎͘͠ṯ̸̡̯͉̥̖̈́͆̀͌̾̅͛̃̈́̏̾̐e̵̢̠̻̳̣̞̠̫̫̍̎̓̎̏̄͑̄̾̌͂̆̌̉̐͜r̸̛̛͎̪̹̰̮̦̖̦̼͓͉̺̟̋̓̆̚͝. _   
  


Her anger is carrying her, keeping her steady on shaky feet as Niki spits out at Wilbur 

“Last words?” 

_ ( Tubbo races up to her , asking “NIKIDOYOUKNOWTHEANTHEMYET?”  _

_ It’s the first time she’s seen the boy smile other than with tommy.  _

_ Niki smiles at Tubbo “No i haven’t , do you want to teach me?”  _

_ Tubbo grabs her arm and drags her out the bakery “YEAHSURE.”) _

  
  


**six.**

_ he tells of an angel _

_ a citizen with wings and a halo _

_ an angel with a rifle _

_ who dives into flames _

_ and watches their leader crack _

\---

“I-I heard there was a special place--” He sings. 

_ ( Niki once asked W̸̡̬̞̠͍͖̙̹̓̂̍̎͆̀͛͆ͅį̶̡̭̯̻͇̬̟͑͒̓̆̍l̵̨̨̠͍̯̻̹̄̉̈́͆̓̓͛͐̉b̸̨̨̡̧̮̮̲͖̯̝̫̘̜̉ͅư̸̜̳̰̟͔̈́͆͛͑̌͒̀r̶̢̳̥̯͈̝͕͔̻̱̘̪̩̤̞̿͂̂̉̄ how he wrote the anthem.  _

_ “I followed history.”) _

“Where men could g-o and eman-cipate” He stumbles through the lyrics, the truth before ,hypocritical now. 

Niki sets the rifle on her arm , wiping the sweat from her hands off, staring down the singing man with a death stare. 

Wilbur’s tears create a mirror on the ground, a dying man watching his own downfall. 

“The bruta-lity and ty-anny of their -ulers.” 

  
  
  
  
  


_ ( Niki has a first-aid kit in her bakery, she tells jschlatt it’s for accidents in the kitchens. _

_ Jschlatt believes it.  _

_ In reality she uses it every night , bandaging the brutal scratches on Tommy’s neck from his scratching. She uses her sewing skills to patch Tommy’s injuries.  _

_ Jschlatt calls her clumsy every time she asks for more first-aid supplies.  _

_ He’s never noticed she never has bandages.) _

“W-ell this place is true, You N-eedn't fret.” Wilbur grimaces for a second , and chuckles. 

In the distance, the flags ashes fall to the ground, gas for the fire. 

_ (Tommy once told Niki that fire was his greatest fear. That it haunted him every night.) _

“With Wil- bur, T-mmy, Tu-bo, fu- Er-t.” 

_ (“We only need three x’s on the flag , Eret’s not a part of our family anymore. He never will be again”) _

“Pr-etty bi-g and not blow-n up L'M-anburg.”

_ ( “If there is anything I’ve learned from these wars , is that history is hypocritical, the irony is lost on the ones who repeat it.” Eret tells her one day.) _

“it's L'Manburg”

_ ( “I’m scared” Tommy tells her. “I know” Niki tells him) _

Wilbur starts closing his teary eyes in peace. , either reminiscing or accepting his fate. Niki couldn’t care less as she holds up the rifle.

“it's L'Manburg”

_ ( “Would you kill someone if you had too?” Purpled asks her one day, while they sit in the socliazing club. _

_ “I don’t think i would ever be in that position”  _

_ Į̴̫͓͛̋́̎̃̉̃̏̆͛̋͑̀̔̋T̶̛͓͛͒̏"̵̨̧̡̺̞̻̤̼̮͍̫̥̗̋̾̇̐̌̏͜͝Š̶̞͗̒̿͜ ̴̳̞̪͎̣̜̹͓͊͌̄̓̇̔͠A̴̰͑̊̍̎̽͒̂̋̕͠L̶͓̹̿̀̀̆͛͛͋̓́̈́̕͝Ļ̷̢̻̻̺̙̰̻͉̪̟͓̀̊͋̒͗̃̾̂̍̋̈́̉̅̋ ̴͕͙̦͈͚͎͔͎͓̺̖̲͛̍̐̃̅͗̕͘͝ͅL̸̮̘̘̹̮̔̍̍̒͆͌̿Ì̵̛̛̖͓͙͚̣̱̺̺͓̻̝̬̦͚͆̔̄̎͑͒̾̓́̕͠Ę̴̧̭̥͚̝͚̣̜̼̞͐͊̇̅̎̒̆͛̈́̈̒̏̐S̸̤̘͙̭͈̱̟̹̙͔̭̣͍͚̙͂́̿͋̇̔̑̌͘ ̶̹̠̰̌) _

“it's L'Manburg”

_ ( “We’re going to save L’manburg right, Niki?” “Of course we are.”)  _

“it's L'Manbur-” 

Niki clicks the trigger , as the bullet fires directly into Wilbur’s chest. His blood lands onto Niki’s wings and uniform. His body collapses in front of her , dead eyes staring at her. Sh-she just killed wilbur. 

The shot rings loud and clear among the suddenly quiet flames ,telling the world that she’s won, that the evil has fallen. 

She drops the rifle with a _CLANG_ and whispers to the corpse "Say hi to god."

Out of the flames , a dark figure slinks close and closer to her. It’s smiling mask cracked so much that it barely hanging on to the face. Dream.

Niki quickly starts to back away , but the flames jump up and force them to meet. 

  
  
  
  


**cinq.**

_ angels must have mercy _

_ but demons don't _

_ did you know _

_ only a demon's sins can burn the angel _

_ 23 down. 1 left. _

\---

  
  


Niki doesn’t want to fight Dream, not while she was unarmed and still in shock. 

She wasn’t built for that.

She was built for peace. 

Dream sways his hand and the flames lick the feathers on her wings and she yelps in pain. He plays this wicked game, while slowly moving Niki’s death closer. As the flames grow ever closer, and the flames screams louder and louder. 

She gives up , like Wilbur did only two minutes ago. 

Her wings wrap around her , a last defense , as the flames eat up her, wilbur , and Dream. 

It’s peaceful ,it’s quick. 

And finally L’manburg burns down.

Entirely. 

  
  


**quatre.**

_ we can be heroes -  _

_ just for one day _

_ be careful though _

\---

**Dream SMP Status Report :**

Date : October 17th 2020 

Notes : Everything’s g̷̘̫̘̬̤͐̅o̶͖̺̦̰̽ͅn̵̛̪̰̪̗̰̰̤̖͛̕ȩ̶̼̥̣̜̤̩͉͇͇͊͛̒̊̈́̓͗͒̾͐̎̐̋͜͝͝ͅ ……...nothing is left

Condition : Ruins & Ashes 

Population :  24 1

-

Two skeleton horses trot along the burnt wooden path , followed by a group of bees buzzing happily around. Two shimmering foxes , barely visible in the glowing morning light , scamper around the horses. A shimmering dog with a red collar chases the foxes in a one-sided game of tag. A little pod of shining fish swim happily with the group as they explore the area- 

They stumble upon the staging area of the festival , blackened by the ashes, a figure in a hoodie slumped over sobbing sits there. Only remnants of their owners are left , a tattered suit , a petal of a striped carnation , a burnt tricone hat~. One of the horses trot over to a pile of ashes covered by a red shirt , and gently attempt to nudge it.

It doesnt work. 

  
  


**trois.**

_ we are unusual and  _

_ tragic and  _

_ alive _

\---

L’manburg is an old traveler’s tale. A young man on a rickety bench , overlooking a decaying duck, tells of a once flourishing city , with animals and people alike. A jukebox that forever plays a haunting tune, the tune of soldiers marching to the sound of drums , to their doom. Sure , they fought over the pettiest of things , but at the end of the day , they were still family. A flourishing country , not much different from Rome in that it fell with it’s leader’s hubris , chained down by greed.

The sun shined on a country of gold , and fell on a country of ashes. 

He talks with tears in his eyes of two brothers , torn apart to use as chess pieces in a war only they cared about. He tells of a father and son , generational trauma passed down in terror. He tells about lovers settling on the land , only to be torn apart by battling ideals and tearing bonds. He rattles on about a king , 13 minutes of fame and then a dark , lonely castle as his companion. He speaks about the watchers , a fate worse than fighting , as they watch the server tear itself apart. He talks about the ashes that litter the ground , tyranny burnt down by it’self. He ends the tale with an angel , dark blue in her country’s clothing , pure white in her angel wings , killing the flames , and leaves him here. 

“Remember the song , and keep the tale going.” he leaves with me. 

  
  
  
  
  


**deux.**

i heard there was a special place 

where men could emancipate 

and win freedom

i heard it’s been burned down

who’s left 

who knows 

\---

  
  
  


**un.**

keep it going.

don’t let it die.

\---


End file.
